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FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011 • College Heights Herald • Vol. 86, No. 54 • Western Kentucky University

WKU hires Emslie, Baylis' partners Ransdell waives search for positions

Far from bankrupt

By JONATHAN LINTNER news@chherald.com

WKU has hired two of its vice presidents’ partners after President Gary Ransdell waived the search process for a pair of new administrative positions.

Merrall Price, partner of Gordon Emslie, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, will be an associate dean of the University College. Leslie Baylis, wife of Gordon Baylis, vice president for Research, will be assistant director of the Honors College.

Separate search waivers for the two were requested by the Honors College and University College on Dec. 17, 2010, according to documents obtained by the Herald through the Kentucky Open Records Act. WKU’s Board of Regents unanimously approved all action items at its Jan. 21 quarterly meeting, including Price and Leslie Baylis’ hirings.

Price will earn $96,000 a year, and Leslie Baylis will earn $82,000, according to agenda materials for the meeting. The two start work on July 1.

Ransdell said that at no time, though, did Emslie or Gordon Baylis put pressure on WKU to hire their partners.

“Most of it was at my initiation,” Ransdell said. “My motives were to make this a welcome and inviting place for the provost and the new vice president for research.”

WKU finds creative solutions to alleviate debt concerns

By JOSH MOORE | news@chherald.com

$144,667,593 WKU's debt, which includes bonds, pledges to the city of Bowling Green and other obligations, as of June 30, 2010.

$62,314,575 Interest owed on WKU's debt, as of June 30, 2010.

$81,120,000 Debt owed by the Student Life Foundation for renovations to dorms, as of June 30, 2010.

SEE PARTNERS, PAGE 6

Graduating seniors will soon leave a campus quite different than the one they first walked onto as freshmen four or five years ago.

In those five years, WKU has finished about a dozen construction projects, from renovating the historic Van Meter Hall to building the 120,000-square-foot Ransdell Hall.

But an aggressive building campaign comes at a price.

Jim Cummings, WKU’s chief financial officer, said the university is like most businesses and families in that it has to borrow money for many of its big projects — those the state doesn’t provide money for.

As of June 30, 2010, WKU had a debt of $144.7 million, most of which is owed for bonds sold to pay for construction projects. Bonds allow investors to lend money to an entity, such as WKU, which then repays the debt with interest. WKU will make payments twice a year until it’s paid off.

Student seeks normalcy, success after battle with lupus

By ALEXIS CUSTARD

SGA tables tobacco-free resolution news@chherald.com

Thirteen years ago, JaNee Lamb woke up with skin so tight that it hurt to touch.

It hurt to move. It was hard to breathe.

After already facing the challenges that come with being a teenager, the then 15-year-old Lamb was diagnosed with Systematic Lupus Erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease that can affect any organ of the body and often mimics other diseases.

Lupus often harms the nervous system, heart, joints, blood vessels, liver, kidneys, skin and lungs. It’s not curable, and the medicine only helps decrease the pain, said Lamb, a senior from Elizabethtown.

She is now a 28-year-old in remission, meaning that lupus is still there, but it isn’t active.

Her remission is due to her chemotherapy for two years and a new medicine that helped build up her blood cells.

Lamb said she was “a very active person” before she was diagnosed with lupus.

“I played pewee football, baseball and was in JROTC,” she said.

Lamb’s mother, Buwanna Watkins, said she felt helpless when she found out her daughter had lupus.

“I felt like I should have been able to

wkuherald.com

CONTACT:

SEE DEBT, PAGE 8

By MIKE STUNSON

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WKU’s bonds and other debt will be repaid over the next 20 years or so, along with $62.3 million in interest, according to the university’s 2010 audit report.

Those numbers don't include $81.1 million that the Student Life Foundation owes for bonds which paid for dorm renovations.

The university will sell another $33.5 million in bonds, probably in early 2012, to renovate Downing University Center, Cummings said.

Just last week the Board of Regents approved a $70 per semester student fee to pay back those bonds over the next 20 years.

Cummings isn’t concerned about WKU’s growing debt.

“I wouldn’t be comfortable sitting in this chair and doing the job I’m doing if I felt like we were incurring more debt than we could pay,” he said.

help her when she doesn’t need it,” Watkins said. “She can do things for herself, but for some reason I feel she can’t.”

Lamb said that she wants to be normal, but nobody is actually normal.

After nearly 45 minutes of debate at Tuesday’s Student Government Association meeting, the senate tabled a resolution supporting a tobacco-free campus until next semester.

Campus improvements chairperson Kaylee Egerer authored the resolution, basing it off a campus-wide survey conducted by political science major Jack Jackson. More than 400 students were surveyed, with 47.82 percent supporting it, 23.47 opposing it and the other 28.71 percent neutral to the ban.

“It’s our responsibility to the student voice as it is heard, and this survey had a large amount of support,” Egerer said at the meeting.

Other senators, however, felt the survey was biased. Tombstones were laid outside Downing University Center on March 30 to show the dangers of smoking when Jackson gave the original survey.

“Since they got the emotional response, the survey is not legit,” said senator Daniel Shaw. “We can’t use that data.”

Shaw also felt SGA should not support the ban based solely off of a one-day survey that resulted in just 400 students taking the survey.

SEE STUDENT, PAGE 10

SEE SGA, PAGE 11

JERRY ENGLEHART JR./HERALD

Elizabethtown senior JaNee Lamb was diagnosed with Lupus when she was 15-years-old and has been living with it for 13 years. She is originally from Detroit where she was part of a JROTC program and very active athletically when she was diagnosed. She did not know what she wanted to do after she found out she had Lupus. Eventually, she realized that she loved to help people and now has found a focus as social services major.

protect her from any type of illness, and I couldn’t help her,” Watkins said.

She said she is often overprotective and worries about her daughter. She is always trying to help her with things like moving and picking up stuff.

“She tells me I’m always trying to

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COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

MAY 6, 2011

CRIME REPORTS Reports

■ Yanjie Wang, Bowling Green, reported on May 4 that her computer was stolen from the sixth floor of Cravens Graduate Center and Library. The value of the theft was $2,000.

■ Whitney Thornton, Bowling Green, reported on May 4 that her property was stolen from the sixth floor of Cravens. The value of the theft was $190.

■ Josef Boothe, PearceFord Tower, reported on May 3 that his cell phone and wallet were stolen from the Preston Center basketball court. The value of the theft was $300.

Arrests

■ Dylan Monroe, Barnes-Campbell Hall, was arrested on May 2 for possession of marijuana in his dorm room. He was released the next day on a court order.

after

class

Jeffrey Kash, associate political science professor, practices a Philippine self-defense fighting system called Arnis at Sentou Dojo in Bowling Green. The Sentou Dojo website defines Arnis as an “eclectic system … which teaches weapons first, including double knife, single knife, single stick, double stick, stick and dagger, rope, staff and improvised weapons.”

“It’s not based on being strong,”

"After class" is a weekly photo essay that shows a side of professors that students might not normally see.

■ John Hughes, PFT, was arrested on May 2 for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in his dorm room.

He was released the same day on a $1,000 unsecured bond.

JABIN E. BOTSFORD/HERALD

Kash said. “It’s based on technique and skill, and anybody can do it if they try to do it for long enough.”

Kash said Arnis helps him relax.

“It’s a nice balance to the intellectual half of my life,” he said.

“Learning the logics in one area also helps with learning in other areas.”

Kash also said he enjoys the social aspect of being able to keep up and hang out with his buddies at the dojo.

Become a fan of the College Heights Herald on Facebook.

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MAY 6, 2011

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

3

Salad bar, Izzi’s coming to food court

By KATHERINE WADE news@chherald.com

When students return from break in the fall, they’ll be eating at an overhauled Downing University Center food court.

Tim Colley, district manager for ARAMARK and the WKU Restaurant and Catering Group, said the organization is negotiating a made-to-order salad company for the Downing University Center food court. “We’ve been getting lots of requests for healthier choices, so this should provide that,� he said.

Colley couldn’t give the brand’s name because there's not yet a contractual agreement. “We’re working our way through

that agreement, and we’re pretty close,� he said.

The salad bar will likely be placed where Taco’s Last Stand is now, Colley said.

Another new option coming to the DUC food court is Izzi’s Southwest, which serves tacos and burritos.

Colley said the other Izzi’s location on campus, in Garrett food court, is extremely popular. He expects students to be pleased. “We did our surveys with students ‌ and they all said if we could do that it would be great,â€? he said.

Colley said the sushi would be moved to the open-air coolers in the food court to create space for Izzi’s.

He said the Izzi’s location in DUC may not provide the exact same menu

news@chherald.com

Progress has continued in planning renovations to Downing University Center.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the DUC Renovations Committee — composed of Student Government Association members, WKU administrators and architects — decided DUC's 24-hour study area will be built on an area of the second floor that's now walled off. “They will open that up there and there will be more of a connection,� said SGA President-elect Billy Stephens, who serves on the committee.

Campus Improvements Chairperson Kaylee Egerer said it was SGA's plan all along to put the study area on the second floor. “The study space has always been the most important part of the renovation,�

Egerer said. “We think the second floor is the perfect spot for it.�

Though the committee has discussed at length specifics about the renovations, nothing is finalized.

Renovations are still expected to begin in the fall and take 18-24 months. They're being paid for by a combination of university auxiliary money and a $70 per semester student fee.

Egerer said the WKU Store will be moved to the first floor near Subway and

make it a little easier to work off of,� he said.

Colley said ARAMARK is also expecting to see results from the MarketMATCH survey in the next two or three weeks.

According to the ARAMARK website, MarketMATCH is a 16-week research process that takes an in-depth look at how to best serve clients. At the end of the report, MarketMATCH provides a five- to six-year plan to guide the university’s dining service.

Colley said he’s waiting for the survey results to make other decisions about campus dining. “We’re trying to get all that compiled,� he said. “By the first week of June we hope to have the final report to present to the university.�

Faculty, new VPs working together

Committee talks study space, WKU Store in DUC renovations

By MIKE STUNSON

options as the one in Garrett because of a lack of space, but it will be as close as possible.

Louisville sophomore Sarah DeWitt said she’s excited about having Izzi’s in the food court, especially since she doesn’t like Taco’s Last Stand. “I’ve been waiting for them to put a good taco place in there for a while,� she said.

DeWitt also said she thought she would like the new salad place. “That’s a healthy choice,� she said. “When you live on campus, the foods on the meal plan are really your only options. I’m tired of all the greasy foods, so I would definitely eat there.�

Colley said WKU is also reworking the salad station in Fresh Foods. “We’re hoping to expand that and

By ELIZABETH BEILMAN news@chherald.com

be accessible from outside. “The WKU Store should look a whole lot nicer,� Egerer said. "It will be all windows and will be in the perfect spot with parking next door.�

SGA President Colton Jessie said he hopes more decisions will be finalized before he moves to Chicago in June.

Egerer said dining hours in a renovated DUC haven't been decided upon. She said students can expect later hours at Red Zone as well as a place to get coffee 24 hours a day.

Stephens said progress has also been made on adding more parking and windows. “It is going to look a whole lot nicer,� he said. “It will be a totally different building.�

Jeff Stivers, head architect for the project, has shown the committee sketches of the blueprints at each of the committee meetings. “The sketches look great,� Stephens said. “And if we don't like something, they will start over for us.�

During winter break, SGA representatives traveled to other colleges to look at their student centers. Egerer said the committee is still using those ideas, most notably Ohio State University's branding. “They were very big on branding there,� she said. “That is probably the biggest thing we are trying to incorporate during for the renovations.�

Openness between faculty and administrators this year has paved the way for academic reform.

Gordon Emslie, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, and Gordon Baylis, vice president for Research, paired with University Senate, have passed numerous actions.

President Gary Ransdell was quick to credit the senate for how it’s adapted to working with Emslie, who was hired last July. “The manner in which the senate and the provost have teamed up and worked together — we now have policy manuals and practices committed to writing,�

Ransdell said. “We’ve never had this level of sophistication before.�

Both Emslie and Baylis started work at WKU last summer.

The new administrative duo conducted a “listening tour� last November to evaluate academics.

On March 25, they presented their findings and suggestions to faculty and staff in an open forum.

Since then, the two have led a second forum which involved direct dialogue with faculty, who agreed to host more forums to continue an open line of communications. “We have individuals in Academic Affairs and with Research who are trying to be responsive, and that’s how it should be,� Ransdell said.

Baylis said the most complex issue he

was involved in centered around a policy about research-track faculty. “I think it went extremely well, and what we ended up with was a policy that was actually a lot better than the one I had originally drafted,� Baylis said. “From my side of things, an open discussion with University Senate has been fantastic and very productive.�

Although Emslie was out of the office this week and unable to comment, Baylis said his impression is that Emslie is “equally happy.�

Among actions passed are reorganization of Academic Affairs and Research and reorganization of University College.

Kelly Madole, professor of psychology and chair of University Senate, said that although she has only been chair for a year, she has seen transparency between the senate and Academic Affairs. “I think faculty have had a real opportunity to weigh in on a number of policy issues that (they) would have some concerns about,� Madole said.

She hopes faculty continue to have a voice in academic reform. “I think that will increase interest in the process,� Madole said.

As chair for the senate next year, some of Madole’s goals include reviewing teaching evaluations, the faculty workload, academic quality issues and governmental structure. “I hope that everybody agrees that this process works,� she said. “We will continue more of this in the future, where it’s a dialogue between Academic Affairs and faculty.�

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05.06.11

College Heights Herald • Western Kentucky University

COLUMN

Never forget to say ‘thank you’ I guess it’s true; times flies when you’re having fun. That explains why it feels like my time on the Hill has zoomed by. They have been five of the most fun, enlightening and rewarding years of my life and that is largely because of the people surrounding me.

Anyone would be wrong to think they were successful without at least a little help. I’m happy to say that I’ve had tons.

And though I don’t want to bore you with a tribute to people who you may not know, I surely don’t think there’s any fault in a little reflection. Besides, it’s my last column, so what better way to end than with gratitude.

As a WKU student, I’ve had the chance to experience things I didn’t think I’d do this early in life.

As a journalist, I’ve interviewed dozens of people, from some of my favorite rappers, like Busta Rhymes and Rick Ross, to interesting people, like the hospitable widows in Oakland, Ky. or mothers in the Warren County Regional Jail. I’ve walked around Central City in search of Steve and Ron Edwards, the Imperial Klans of America leaders, until I finally landed on (and got rejected on) their doorstep. And I’ve ventured aimlessly around Vittorio Emmanuale in Rome, Italy, until my classmates and I finally found the story we wanted.

As a member of my sorority, I was honored to preside over the 40th anniversary of my chapter, even meeting the women who

chartered it in 1970. I attended the 50th National Convention in the great city of New Orleans and met women ANGELA OLIVER and past naRhyme & Reason tional presiopinion@chherald.com dents with the same appreciation for such an historic and impactful organization. And I got to teach the newest members how to continue a chapter steeped in making strides on this campus.

I’ve been a part of great things here at WKU, and I’ve managed not to lose my mind, only because I’ve had an amazing support system.

People like my journalism professors who have given me the tools to excel in the industry. People like Josh, Emily and all the Herald and Talisman staffers that I’ve had the chance to work alongside, who listened to my ideas, including this column. People like Mr. A, Mac, Dr. Foster and Dr. Hardin, who always have a recommendation handy and never hesitate to share their wisdom.

I also love readers, those who submitted to the opinion page, making my job easier, and those who spoke to me around campus or in restaurants and told me they enjoyed

EDITORIAL CARTOON

this column. You don’t know it, but you’ve made pieces of my dreams come alive.

Aside from my academic and extracurricular supporters, I’ve had the help of people like Ms. Martin, Mrs. Maxine and Mrs. Christine, all advisers and women who gave me comfort and the feeling of family, as I am away from home.

I’m certain you can relate. Or I hope so, because if you can, I am not alone in the overwhelming feeling. The problem is, we rarely express it.

On “Big Brother,” an under-the-radar tribute to Jay-Z, Kayne West stepped outside of his typical cockiness, saying, “If you admire somebody, you should go ahead and tell ‘em. People never get the flowers while they can still smell ‘em.”

Well, I’ll use my words as flowers and encourage us all to say thanks to our biggest fans—our parents and families who nurture our dreams, no matter how wacky; our teachers who push us to reach our potential; our friends who call us out on mistakes; our mentors, resident assistants, advisers, co-workers and classmates.

Whether you’re flipping your tassel with me next Saturday or have more time here, remember to acknowledge those who have been by your side, in big or small ways. Then remember to be of help to someone else.

Thank you for reading and helping me accomplish one of my goals. Peace, WKU. I appreciate it.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Herald should have waited to run Eckhardt story

The editor and staff of the Herald made a really poor decision to publish the article on WKU's decision to fire Amy Eckhardt from her position in the Office of Scholar Development.

Are there journalists at the Herald who are interested in getting the whole story on an issue?

If you read her termination letter (which you had no problem posting on your website, another rather distasteful act), you would clearly see that Eckhardt is prevented from speaking with "any other campus or off campus entities regarding the Honors College, Chinese Flagship, or the Office of Scholar Development that is connected to ongoing or future WKU business."

If she violated this order, she would have forfeited her April 30 paycheck.

I cannot fault Eckhardt for wishing to remain silent at this time. But, seriously — was it necessary for this story to be published on April 18? Could the editor have waited until after April 30 so that she could have been given a realistic opportunity to respond?

I think we should hold our university newspaper to a higher standard than this.

Jerry Daday Associate professor, sociology

TOPS to the Kentucky Derby this weekend.

Grab your fancy hats and suits and head north.

BOTTOMS to cold weather in May, though we'll probably be begging for a cold front come August.

TOPS to College Heights Boulevard becoming a two-way street. Let's just hope pedestrians remember to look both ways.

TOPS to SGA waiting to make a more informed decision on the smoking ban.

BOTTOMS to longdistance relationships this summer. Time to activate your Skype account.

TOPS to this being the last week of classes.

Good luck on your finals, folks. See you next semester.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Don't compromise principles over bin Laden death

The death of Osama bin Laden is definitely a victory for the individuals and families who were impacted by 9/11 and others who were impacted by his cruel treatment and plots of terrorism.

While this is true and I understand the significance of his death, I will not rejoice in the loss of a life. We are all God's children and in His eyes, all sins are equal.

How can anyone say they believe in God and believe in His word, yet rejoice in a life lost? This is a major contradiction. If you are going to celebrate that some of bin Laden's wrongdoings against others will be partially justified and that the families will have some closure because of his death, do that.

But don't compromise your religious principles and celebrate for the wrong reasons.

Ashlee Bradley Louisville junior

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MAY 6, 2011

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

5

Campus construction planned for summer CAMPUS STEAM LINE REPAIRS

There are five locations that will undergo steam line replacements: Alumni Drive at Wetherby Administration Building, Avenue of Champions to Bates-Runner Hall, small section of line exiting the Heat Plant, Bemis Lawrence Hall to Barnes-Campbell Hall and Minton Hall to Avenue of Champions.

John Osborne, vice president of Campus Services and Facilities, said all five locations will cause some disruptions, but they plan to minimize that as much as possible.

MUSIC HALL

Osborne said the Music Hall construction is on schedule and scheduled to be completed in December 2011 and ready for use in spring 2012.

Construction began in August 2010.

OTHER PROJECTS ■ Replacing the primary water line that services the Faculty House, Industrial Education Building, and Helm Library.

■ Installing the last highefficiency natural gas boiler in the heat plant.

■ Redesigning Creason lot to provide better circulation and safety for pedestrians. The redesign will also include a bus entrance and exit to Highway 68-80.

■ Repairing Parking Structure 1 including concrete patching, new roofing and other miscellaneous repairs.

■ Repairing water and structural damage to the Colonnades.

CHRIS WILSON/HERALD

■ Replacing windows in Helm Library.

BLOCK 12

Osborne said the construction of the parking structure has been affected by spring flooding. He said materials needed to continue the project come from a plant in Owensboro that is right next to the Ohio River.

That plant is flooded.

“We cannot get our material, so the construction schedule will be extended,” he said.

■ New parking lot on Virginia Garrett Loop.

■ Mechanical repairs at Downing University Center.

■ Kentucky Building HVAC upgrades. compiled by Katherine Wade

CHRIS WILSON/HERALD

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COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

PARTNERS CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Searches can be waived only by Ransdell, who, along with Emslie and directors of the University College and Honors College, signed off on the waivers.

The waivers were justified in similarly worded letters by Dennis George, dean of the University College, and Craig Cobane, executive director of the Honors College.

Gordon Baylis said he didn’t play a part in his wife’s discussions with WKU, adding that he hasn’t felt as though it’s affected his work at the university.

“I have felt very comfortable and very welcome,” he said. “No one’s made me feel uncomfortable about anything, quite frankly.”

Emslie was out of the office this week and unavailable for comment.

Tony Glisson, director of Human Resources, said there are now 116 married couples who work at WKU. Employees aren’t forced to disclose a partnership, so Glisson couldn’t speculate on how many of those relationships exist among employees.

MAY 6, 2011

He said other than through casual awareness, the only way WKU would become aware of a partner relationship is through benefits enrollment, which no partners have disclosed.

In addition to administrative duties, Price receives associate professor rank in interdisciplinary studies and Leslie Baylis in psychology.

Both will be tenured.

Price comes to WKU as a tenured associate BAYLIS professor at Oklahoma State University, where she’s also director of Graduate Studies in the department of English.

She’s also held jobs at the University of Alabama Huntsville and Cornell University.

Leslie Baylis is now a tenured research asEMSLIE sociate professor in psychology at the University of South Carolina. Her other work experience includes positions at Presbyterian College and the University of Oxford in England.

I think we made a thoughtful decision in regards to these two scholars."

—GARY RANSDELL President

Read the waivers at our website wkuherald.com Ransdell compared the new hirings to bringing in spouses of professors — except in this case, he said Price and Leslie Baylis come with credentials worthy of administrative roles.

“Everyone seemed pleased with the combinations of dynamics that could be addressed by that,” Ransdell said. “I think we made a thoughtful decision in regards to these two scholars.”

Ransdell announced in March more

than $2.3 million in budget cuts, with the largest chunk — $1,476,127 — coming from the division of Academic Affairs.

That won’t stop Price and Leslie Baylis from earning almost six figures.

Price and Leslie Baylis will be paid with recurring 2010-2011 contingency money, said Mike Dale, associate vice president for academic budgets and administration.

Dale said 75 percent of Leslie Baylis’ $82,000 salary comes from reallocated contingency money from the Honors College and 25 percent comes from the psychology department. Price’s $96,000 will be paid in full from recurring contingency money set aside to support staffing in University College.

Gordon Baylis and Emslie, both vice presidents, are recent hires themselves, having both started at WKU within the past year. Vice presidents are members of WKU’s administrative council and report directly to Ransdell.

The two most notably conducted a listening tour this past fall that eventually led to a restructuring of the division of Academic Affairs, which was made official at last Friday’s Board of Regents meeting.

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MAY 6, 2011

WKU

AtoZ

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Z is for Zumba Instructor

7

Instructor teaches mix of Latin dance, aerobics Each Friday, the Herald brings you a profile inspired by a letter of the alphabet.

By REBECCA BARNETT news@chherald.com

Hips in a line move quickly from side to side to the beat of the music.

Left foot out, right foot out.

Feet together.

Jump, jump!

Throw in a couple of fist pumps and arm waves, and you haven’t even covered half of the movements in a Zumba class.

Zumba is a mixture of cardiovascular exercise, Latin dance and aerobics, and is taught at Preston Center.

The class is fast-paced, but has some slower-beat songs in the mix to add some variety.

Bowling Green resident Jacquelyn Cline, 22, teaches the class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and said she fell in love with Zumba immediately after trying it.

“You don’t feel like you’re working out because you’re having so much fun, and that’s the best way to work out,” Cline said.

Nashville senior Christopher Ramsey said he hates exercising.

“So I found something that was entertaining, and didn’t feel like I was just exercising.”

Now, Ramsey said he attends the Zumba classes at Preston Center all five days a week that the classes are offered.

Owensboro sophomore Kelly Simmons said she attends Zumba classes with her Alpha Omicron Pi sorority sisters.

“It’s bonding time for us, and just a great way for us to get to know each other,” she said.

Ramsey said he likes that the Zumba classes are upbeat.

“Both instructors make it really fun,” Ramsey said. “They’re always smiling, they’re always upbeat, they’re always getting everybody involved in it, it’s really hard just to drag through it, even though sometimes they work you pretty hard.”

Even sometimes being one of the only, if not the only, males in the class doesn’t deter Ramsey from attending.

“You know, some people ask why I’m the only guy in here or whatever, and I just tell them, because I’m the only guy smart enough to show up to a class of 40 girls,” he said.

PHOTOS BY REBECCA BARNETT/HERALD

(top) Instructor Jacquelyn Cline, leads an afternoon Zumba class in the Preston Center. "I think Zumba’s for everybody," Cline said. "The creator made it to where everybody can do it, and no matter if you want to or not or think you can or can’t, I mean, if you just start doing it. It’s contagious." (right) Zumba class participants follow along to instructor Jacquelyn Cline’s dance moves.

check out the video online at wkuherald.com

8

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

MAY 6, 2011

Former star student pursues stardom

By SPENCER JENKINS diversions@chherald.com

After graduation, alumna and smalltown Shelbyville native Ruby Lewis packed her bags and moved from city to city, eventually landing in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

She just finished shooting an independent pilot episode called “A Special Education,” she said in an email interview.

“It will be ‘shopped around’ to producers and networks so the entire cast and crew have our fingers crossed,” she said. “It’s a great script, so I think it has a chance.”

Lewis also appeared in the May 1 episode of the ABC show “Brothers and Sisters.”

Associate music professor James Brown remembers Lewis’ earlier performances as a student at WKU. Brown said Lewis did whatever it

DEBT CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Cummings noted that Standard & Poor’s, an independent company that rates institutions’ credit scores, upgraded WKU’s rating from “stable” to “positive” in February. Their report cited, among other reasons, continued enrollment growth and a manageable debt burden for the upgrade.

That’s enough for President Gary Ransdell.

“These are the people that would tell us if our debt is out of balance,” he said.

Ransdell said he isn’t concerned about WKU’s debt, because it isn’t a significant amount of the university’s annual budget.

WKU will pay $12.7 million toward debt during the 2010-2011 school year, according to university budget documents. That’s about 4.7 percent of the $270.9 million unrestricted budget, which comes mostly from tuition and state appropriations.

“Julie and I built a house recently,” Ransdell said. “I wish our mortgage payment was only 4.7 percent of my income.”

Associate history professor Eric Reed said it’s not the amount WKU spends on paying debt that worries him, but the fact that the money could go to academics instead.

“We have limited resources, and when we spend a dollar on something, we can’t spend it on something else,” he said. “If we spend a dollar on buildings, we can’t spend it on academics. If we spend a dollar on athletics, we can’t spend it on new faculty.”

With less state money going to universities, tuition and other money becomes more important, Reed said.

Ransdell said that going forward the priority will have to be on hiring new faculty and increasing academic quality.

“Most of what we’ve done in the past have been exceptional things,” he said. “We’re just not going to have the window of opportunity to fund those exceptional things much more in the future.”

A campus needing a transformation

When Ransdell, a 1973 WKU graduate, became president in 1997, he wasn’t happy with the campus he returned to. He said the buildings were old and dete-

took to succeed to the best of her ability, or she wasn’t satisfied.

“I’ve been here 46 years, and I feel she’s the best female musical theater performer that has come out of RUBY LEWIS our program,” he said.

She played multiple female lead roles in WKU productions, Brown said.

“If she was in it, she was usually the lead,” he said.

Brown and Scott Stroot, associate professor of theatre and dance, encouraged Lewis to be part of the theatre and music departments, Lewis said.

“I’d been practicing acting, singing

riorating, and the last academic building was built in 1976.

“So we were in desperate need of not only additional academic space, but the space that we had was in pretty bad shape,” Ransdell said.

He said the campus was on the verge of losing the beauty and distinctiveness that attracted students to WKU. “I had no idea how we were going to go about it, but that clearly had to be something that my time as president had to focus on,” Ransdell said. “It was rebuilding the campus and restoring the grounds to their natural beauty.”

Construction projects on campus can generally be paid for in three ways. The state can provide the money, as it did to build Mass Media and Technology Hall and Ransdell Hall, the new home of the College of Education. Or the university can find the money itself, either through collecting private donations or selling bonds.

Donations funded the new Chandler Chapel and will soon pay for the new Augenstein Alumni Center, while bonds have paid for the renovations to Preston Center and construction of the music hall.

It’s up to the governor and the Kentucky General Assembly to decide whether the state will pay for a project or if the university must sell bonds, said Sherron Jackson, associate vice president for budget, planning and policy for the Council on Postsecondary Education, the government body that oversees Kentucky

I find myself right now in 2011 much like I did in 1997.

I know we’ve got a lot more we’ve got to do. I’m just not sure how we’re going to get it done."

—GARY RANSDELL President

and dancing my entire life,” she said. “I knew I wanted acting to be my career after my first professionally paying gig at age 12 in Musical Theatre Louisville’s ‘The Sound of Music.’”

She became hooked on the journey and rush and has pursued it since, she said.

Associate music professor Wayne Pope said he worked with Lewis in several shows at WKU beginning her freshman year when she started in the chorus of a musical.

Lewis played lead female roles in many productions including “Rag Time” and “The Gondoliers,” he said.

“All the shows needed serious singing,” Pope said.

Lewis performed in “Grease” all over the country before moving to LA. “I performed nearly 500 hand-jives, but it’s an experience I’ll never forget,” she said.

WKU'S TOTAL DEBT $225,787,593 as of June 30, 2010 does not include interest on that debt

BONDS paid for renovation and construction of buildings, parking lots, etc., $109,678,759

universities. The legislature still has to give permission for a university to sell bonds.

The state only pays for educational and general-use buildings, he said. For other projects, such as athletic facilities or dorms, the university has to come up with its own funding.

Jackson said all the state universities want to improve their campus facilities, and if they don’t, “they believe they’re not competing well for the best and brightest students.”

Thinking creatively

In addition to aggressively pursuing state money and looking for private donations, Ransdell said WKU began thinking creatively to find money for projects.

“There were things that we were doing that had not been done in Kentucky before or almost any other public institution,” he said.

“But we were willing to take some risks and have a good business model.”

In 2002, the city of Bowling Green sold bonds on behalf of WKU to pay for renovations to Diddle Arena.

The university uses part of a $205 student athletics fee to pay the city, which then pays the debt each year. The outstanding debt there includes about $30 million, according to the university audit report.

The agreement allowed the renovation of Diddle without the university actually selling bonds, Ransdell said.

Also, in 1999 at the suggestion of Ransdell, the Board of Regents voted to sell 17 of its 18 dorms

Moving to a big city has been overwhelming for Lewis, but she’s built to thrive on the hustle, she said.

“I make a point to hold on to smalltown values, and people will notice,” she said. “I love telling people I’m from Kentucky.”

David Young, department head of theatre and dance, said Lewis doesn’t need pushing because she pushes herself.

“She’s focused and very self-disciplined,” he said. “She gets it done and ahead of time and she always exceeds expectation.”

Lewis said her ultimate goal is to pay her bills, buy her first home and send her kids to college.

“I would hope to continue building a name for myself until, eventually, I can be considered a bi-coastal actress with the ability to do theater in New York or television and film in LA,” she said. “I’m still waiting for my big break."

PLEDGES TO BOWLING GREEN repays city for bonds to renovate Diddle Arena, $30,199,434 OTHER Equipment leases, energy savings performance contract and other obligations, $4,789,400 STUDENT LIFE FOUNDATION bonds which paid for dorm renovations, $81,120,000

to the newly formed Student Life Foundation.

That allows the foundation to sell bonds for dorm construction projects without getting state permission, said Brian Kuster, director of Housing and Residence Life.

The money HRL collects from room and board fees goes to the Student Life Foundation, which uses part of it to pay the debt.

The idea, one unique to Kentucky colleges, came about after a dorm fire at Murray State University killed a student in 1997, Kuster said. The state then required all universities to add sprinkler systems in dorms.

Ransdell said he and a local attorney developed a plan for the foundation on a napkin over dinner at a local restaurant. It was a way to add sprinkler systems and renovate all the dorms.

“We’ve marched forward ever since, and now we’ve renovated every single building on campus,” he said. “And the beauty of it is, we’ve kept our residence hall rates right within market of all the other universities in the state.”

Almost $110 million has been invested in the dorms over the past decade, while most other universities have renovated a handful of their dorms, Kuster said.

The foundation owes about $81.1 million in debt to be paid back in installments until 2030.

It’ll be paying cash for new student apartments it’s constructing around the new parking garage between Kentucky and Center streets adjacent to campus, he said.

The agreement on its existing

bonds requires the foundation to have an income that’s 20 percent greater than the interest on its debt, Kuster said. The result is a surplus of money each year.

That money is spent on maintaining current buildings or investing in smaller projects such as the new apartments.

Moving forward

The Board of Regents approved WKU’s new 2012-2018 capital plan last week. The list prioritizes the university’s construction goals over the next six years, which totals about $750 million.

Renovation of the Thompson Complex North Wing and construction of a new College of Business building are high on the list, but Ransdell said those would have to be paid for by the state.

“I don’t anticipate other student fees before this one is paid off,” he said, referring to the new fee to pay for DUC renovations. “We’ll do projects, but I don’t see projects coming out of tuition going forward.”

And Ransdell said with less money from the legislature going toward capital projects, it’ll be tough.

“I find myself right now in 2011 much like I did in 1997,” he said. “I know we’ve got a lot more we’ve got to do. I’m just not sure how we’re going to get it done.”

But Ransdell said if the president isn’t willing to take on those challenges, they won’t get done.

“To me, I find that an exciting part of the job,” he said. “We took the challenge, and we’re finding ways to do it.”

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10

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

Professor, grad student studying aging effects

By TAYLOR HARRISON news@chherald.com

Psychology professor Sharon Mutter is so productive with her research that Hopkinsville graduate student Candice Groves came to WKU just to work with her.

“I always have research going on,” Mutter said.

Mutter is working on a project to discover if there’s a way to structure learning tasks to benefit older adults.

Mutter works in the cognitive aging laboratory and studies the impact of age-related cognitive changes in older adults' judgment and decisionmaking processes.

Mutter is currently working on a master’s thesis for Groves.

Groves took an aging class and found out more about deficits in associative learning.

"I'm really interested in older adults and what goes on with successful aging," Groves said.

Groves wants this research to go toward helping older adults.

Steven Haggbloom, the psychology department head, said his department is very research productive.

“Almost all, if not all, who are tenured or on tenure track, are involved in research to some degree,” Haggbloom said.

Mutter said it's relatively easy to get students to come in to represent young adults, but getting community volunteers for the older adult testing is more of a challenge.

By older adults, Mutter is referring to people who are at least 60 years old and above.

Mutter said that the average person in her experiments is 72, and she's had some participants as old as 90.

She usually finds her participants by using voter registration

rolls. Mutter said that because they're public records, she is able to access registrations and randomly sample the proper individuals. She then sends out letters to those people and waits for their responses.

“What we’re trying to find out is whether or not we can structure the learning environment or change the learning task in a way that actually provides some special benefit for older adults and might equalize their performance with younger adults,” Mutter said.

Mutter’s prediction for her current project is that if the learning environment is structured in a certain way, older adults' performance can be improved.

Mutter also said that there are two major areas in which there are often cognitive deficits in older adults: associative memory and causal judgment.

Associative memory is the brain’s ability to learn the relationship between two items or events.

For instance, Mutter said if two random words such as doctor and house are given together, the older adults might later be only given the word doctor and tested on whether or not they could remember house.

“If they can, that means they’ve learned to associate those two words together,” Mutter said.

Mutter also said that for the purpose of this experiment, she's testing adults who are going through normal aging processes and are not suffering from debilitating affects or illnesses.

Mutter doesn’t have funding for the project, but she and her colleagues have written a proposal to obtain money to purchase equipment that will help with the research.

MAY 6, 2011

Emerging leaders

ELIZABETH FRANTZ/HERALD

Louisville senior Brandyn Bailey and other current Western Leaders perform cheers during the Western Leaders Reveal ceremony on Wednesday. The leaders will assist with next year’s MASTER Plan. Bailey will graduate this May after being a Western Leader for three years.

STUDENT CONTINUED FROM FRONT

“I’m just different in my own way, and it tends to make me stronger,” she said.

She has gone from 130 pounds to 180 while taking 20 different medications.

Her self-esteem went down, she developed arthritis, high blood pressure, had a hip replacement and almost died when she developed lupus cerebritis, which is swelling of the cerebrum, she said.

“I’m allergic to the sun, and with all the medicine they put me on, it has affected me emotionally,” Lamb said. “I learn to deal with it.”

Lamb had to learn how to rewalk and talk because of lupus.

After suffering from memory loss, doctors decided to let her go back to school so she could regain her memory.

Lamb had to take only two classes, because lupus is triggered by stress, she said.

Radcliff freshman Capri Johnson is Lamb’s childhood friend.

She didn’t know that Lamb had lupus until they were about 18 or 19.

Johnson was anxious because she didn’t know anything about it.

“I feel she deals with the pain and carries on every day like she doesn’t have it,” Johnson said. “I think she’s strong for having the disease and to have been dealing with it for a long time.”

Lamb said that lupus has affected her social and school life because she has to take fewer

classes, and some of her friends don’t want her to go out of town with them out of fear that she will get out of breath and sick.

Today, Lamb has to stretch often, keep moving her body around, take her medicine, make doctor visits every three months and eat right in order to keep her lupus in remission.

“It’s better to accept it than to push it away,” Lamb said. “If you push it away, it’s always going to be there; it’s not going away.”

She said she doesn’t tell people she has lupus because she doesn’t want people to look at her or treat her differently.

Lamb plans to be a social worker after college.

“The motivation that keeps me pushing is that I want to live like everybody else lives,” she said.

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MAY 6, 2011

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

SOFTBALL

11

Lady Tops will try to secure postseason play

By NICK BRATCHER sports@chherald.com

The Lady Toppers enter this weekend experiencing some unwelcome déjà vu.

WKU (26-26, 7-15 Sun Belt Conference) must win one game of a doubleheader against Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. to earn a berth into the Sun Belt Conference postseason tournament.

Junior Laura Smith said the Lady Toppers will need one final push for consistency to get the win it needs.

“We’re all just kind of in a whirlwind,” she said. “We aren’t sure what’s going on with the team, or if we’re going to show up that day or not show up that day. We’re trying to figure out what can get us over that one-game hump.”

WKU already played at MTSU on Wednesday with a chance to secure a berth but lost, 3-2.

The Lady Toppers now sit in eighth place with a half-game lead on North Texas, whose conference play has already concluded. The ninth-place team is the only one excluded from the postseason.

But this situation is not unfamiliar to WKU. Last year, the Lady Toppers’ season came down to the same situation against MTSU, needing a win to advance to the postseason. But the Lady Toppers dropped both games and fell to ninth place in the Sun Belt.

Sophomore outfielder Katrina Metoyer said last year’s disappointment gives this year’s squad a lot of motivation.

“It sucked not going to the tournament

Annual film festival draws to a close

By JOANNA WILLIAMS news@chherald.com

Films from as far away as Japan and New York were screened at the 17th annual Western Film Festival that wrapped up Thursday evening.

Yet many of the more than 30 films presented at the festival were closer to home, as independent filmmakers from the region as well as students showcased their films.

Columbia senior Thomas Scott’s film “The Making of Finality” was screened Wednesday night. The film is about the frustrations he runs into while he attempts to make a movie for a film festival, and was based off his actual experiences making his original movie idea for the festival “Finality.”

“It turned into a movie that was how hard it was to make a movie,” Scott said.

WKU alumnus Nate Morguelan of Bowling Green had his short film “K” screened Wednesday night. The film is about a hitman who goes on a series of killing sprees for his job, while at the same time, his family is texting him to get items from the store on his way back home.

“It just kinda explores the fact that a hitman has a family at home and that you do what you got to do to support your family,” Morguelan said.

The festival was open to filmmakers and video producers of any experience level, said Cory Lash, transitional journalism retiree and founder of the festival.

Lash said he thinks the festival has remained at a level where there is a variety of films and a great amount of talent.

The seminars have been great... The only thing we would like is to fill this auditorium."

—CORY LASH Founder of the film festival

“I think its been consistent,” he said. “You never know what you’re going to get.”

At Wednesday evening’s screenings, Lash said the festival was well underway.

“Its been going as smooth as can be,” he said. “The seminars have been great... The only thing we would like is to fill this auditorium.”

Attendance was low during the screenings in Mass Media and Technology Hall auditorium, and Lash said he thinks that’s a result of having the festival at the end of the semester.

“We try to have it at the end of the year so students can have all semester to work on it,” he said.

During the seminar part of the festival, Lash said the dialogue between the professionals and the students was good.

“The seminars have been well attended,” he said. “We try to schedule it during class time so other faculty can come and bring their classes,” he said.

Awards from the festival were announced after press time on Thursday.

Check wkuherald.com for a list of winners.

■ NEWS BRIEF NPR guru to visit WKU The creator of National Public Radio’s show “All Things Considered”will be visiting campus this weekend in celebration of NPR’s 40th anniversary.

WKU Public Radio will host a breakfast for Bill Siemering on Saturday morning, followed by brief remarks and questions from the audience in Mass Media and Technology Hall, according to a press release.

Siemering has been the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” and the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, according to the release.

He was NPR’s first director of programming and hired the original staff at the station. Besides “All Things Considered,” he also created “This Is Radio” which was later renamed “Fresh Air.” Tickets can be purchased by contacting Peter Bryant, manager/program director of Public Radio Services, at 1-800-599-9598.

— Joanna Williams

Two-way traffic to start on College Heights Boulevard President Gary Ransdell said he’s pondering now what to put in his regular year-end letter to faculty, staff and students.

One of those items will be further addressing two-way traffic on College Heights Boulevard, which was announced Tuesday in an email from Parking and Transportation Services.

College Heights Boulevard from College Street to Parking Structure 1 will become two-way in early June, according to the email, with the road remaining one-way as it turns into the Avenue of Champions past the parking

— knowing that of all the teams, you’re the one staying back behind,” she said. “It provides a lot of motivation to not be in that situation again.”

Metoyer also said the team’s youth will play into a different outlook on the remaining games.

“I think last year’s seniors were ready to be done,” she said. “It didn’t seem like they wanted it as much. With our young team, we feel like we have something to prove.

"We want to set a tone for the rest of our career here and do well.”

Head Coach Tyra Perry said the team needs to avoid comparisons to last year, though.

“We need to not even think about last year,” she said. “Last year is in the past.

Just like someone trying to do better in

SGA CONTINUED FROM FRONT

“I want us to do more research and get numbers that aren’t tainted,” he said. “This issue isn’t going away.

People will still care next year.”

After Tuesday’s meeting, the campus improvements committee made adjustments and tweaked its position on the issue.

Egerer said the committee won’t support a tobacco ban until the twoyear requirement for students to live on campus is removed.

“You can’t tell someone they have to live on campus for two years and not allow them to smoke,” she said.

Devon Hilderbrandt, administrative vice president-elect, was the first to recommend tabling the resolution.

Hilderbrandt suggested talking to incoming students at Academic Transition Programs and Master Plan.

their life, we’ve just got to move on.

“The biggest thing we can do is to treat it as another game and not make it bigger than it is.”

Smith said the team will need to channel its best efforts this season while not over-extending itself, referencing the team’s win against then-No. 6 Michigan on March 13.

“We have to play within ourselves,” she said. “A lot of times we try to win the game in one swing, which is playing out of our shoes. We have to play the ball we know how to play and not try to be the superheroes of the day.”

Perry said the result is the players’ responsibility now, having taught the team all she can.

“Ultimately, it’s up to them,” she said.

“Ultimately, they’ve got to play.”

“We can meet over the summer and work this out more,” he said.

The organization will now take the summer to conduct more research and hash out a better plan. SGA president Colton Jessie compared the tobaccofree situation to when SGA tabled a vote on Downing University Center renovations last semester.

The DUC resolution passed unanimously in February after SGA gathered more student input.

“In both situations we needed more time and more information to go further,” Jessie said.

President Gary Ransdell previously said he would not support WKU becoming a tobacco-free campus until all three of WKU’s governing bodies support it. So far, University Senate has supported the ban, while Staff Council has opposed it.

If SGA supports the resolution next semester, the topic may be brought up again to Staff Council.

R E S TAU R A N T & C AT E R I N G G R O U P

IT IS bACK! COMPLIMENTARY EXAM BREAKFAST

structure.

A three-way stop will also be added at the entrance to Wetherby Administration Building and Schneider Hall.

Ransdell said the changes were approved by WKU’s administrative council after consulting the Master Plan committee. He plans to elaborate more on the process in his letter.

“It was so direct and so to the point,” Ransdell said of the email. “I feel like I need to share with the campus in a bit more detail about this being studied for the last several months.”

— Jonathan Lintner

WKU collecting donations for Alabama relief The WKU baseball and softball teams will host drop-off locations this Saturday for victims of the tornadoes that devastated Alabama last week, according to a release issued Wednesday by media relations.

A drop-off location will be available Saturday at Nick Denes Field for the Toppers’ noon game against Florida Atlantic, and at the WKU Softball Complex for WKU’s softball doubleheader against Middle Tennessee at 1 and 3 p.m.

Donations will be collected at the front gates of both the baseball and softball games. Those items will be delivered to the American Red Cross of Alabama and distributed to the towns in need.

The list of needed items includes bottled water, non-perishable food items, shoes and new or gently used clothing. A full list of items can be found at wkusports.com.

A monetary donation bucket will also be available at the games.

— Herald Staff

MONDAY, May 9th Fresh Food Company 7:00 am - 9:30 am This is the last Herald of the semester, but for news updates, check out wkuherald.com

12

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD

MAY 6, 2011

BASEBALL

WKU bullpen looks to improve performance

By BRAD STEPHENS sports@chherald.com

WKU players have maintained all season that the Toppers’ 2011 goal is a Sun Belt Conference championship and an NCAA Regional berth.

It appears that one group in particular will have a large role in whether or not that goal becomes a reality — the Topper bullpen.

This season WKU relievers have suffered from inconsistencies, costing the Toppers several games.

Most recently, WKU lost a road game Wednesday at Eastern Kentucky, where the Toppers took a 4-3 lead to the bottom of the ninth, but junior reliever Ross Hammonds allowed a ninth-inning Colonel rally that tied the game at four.

Then in the 11th inning, junior reliever Phil Wetherell threw a wild pitch that brought home the winning run.

The bullpen’s inability to close has contributed to the fact that out of WKU’s last 23 games, nine have been losses in which the Toppers were either leading or tied going into the seventh inning.

Wetherell said before the EKU game that pitching coach Matt Myers has been preaching a message of confidence with the WKU bullpen. “He’s really just been telling us mainly to clear the head and don’t worry about what has happened,� Wetherell said. “It’s more of focusing on what you need to do to help the team, to refocus and to make pitches, and to try and get us back on track.�

Wetherell, Hammonds and junior Rye Davis are the three veteran members of the Topper bullpen.

Davis, a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference pitcher, was slated at the beginning of the year to be the team’s closer, a role in which he thrived in 2010.

But the right-hander got off to a slow start, opening the door for either Hammonds or Wetherell to become the team’s go-to-reliever.

Both have had flashes of brilliance,

RYAN STONE/HERALD

Sophomore Taylor Haydel, left, and junior Ross Hammonds lean on the outfield bullpen fence during the second half of WKU's game against Bowling Green State earlier this season. Despite several veterans, WKU's bullpen has struggled lately to find consistency.

such as Hammonds’ April 19 three-inning shutout performance against Kentucky, or Wetherell’s March 29 start against Louisville where he allowed a single unearned run over four innings.

But both have also had rough outings, including Hammonds giving up two home runs in a blown save attempt last Friday against Louisiana-Monroe, or Wetherell surrendering a 3-1, ninthinning lead April 17 against Arkansas State.

Freshman starting pitcher Justin Hageman said any problems the bullpen is going through are because of confidence, not talent. “A couple of the guys in the bullpen have potential to be draft picks this year and can really do something with

their life in baseball,� Hageman said. “Phil is one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen pitch, Rye throws the ball hard as crap, and Ross is just nasty. “It’s just a confidence thing right now, but I think they’re all starting to come around.�

If the relievers are indeed starting to pitch better, this weekend would be a good time to show it.

WKU has a three-game home set with Florida Atlantic, which stands in a three-team tie for second in the Sun Belt standings, one game ahead of the 12-9 Toppers.

With just three conference weekends to play, WKU will likely need to win the FAU series, as well as win its next two series against South Alabama

and Middle Tennessee State, to have a shot at winning the league title.

The Toppers are currently three back of league leader Troy.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. tonight at Nick Denes Field, and sophomore lefthander Tanner Perkins (6-2, 2.07 ERA) will start for WKU. Head Coach Chris Finwood said that because of the bullpen struggles, he’ll expect Perkins and Hageman to turn in big efforts the rest of the way. “It’s the time of the year when Tanner and Justin need to give us eight or nine innings,� Finwood said. “At this point, we’ll need to let them stay out there and work through some things, because the guys behind them haven’t proven that they’re going to do it.�

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Teams resting for conference

By LUCAS AULBACH sports@chherald.com

With the 2011 outdoor track and field season coming down to the final two weeks, most members of the WKU teams will be able to enjoy some rest before the Sun Belt Conference Championships.

The championships will take place from May 13-15 at Middle Tennessee.

While some of the team will compete at a meet in Indiana this weekend, the majority of the team has the weekend off.

They might need it, too. Assistant Coach Jarrett Murphy called the Sun Belt â&#x20AC;&#x153;highly competitiveâ&#x20AC;? this year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think this coming weekend will really help the kids mentally prepare for the challenges next weekend,â&#x20AC;? he said.

While most of the athletes won't be in action this weekend, a group of about 20 will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to compete in a meet at Indiana University. Head Coach Erik Jenkins called the event a â&#x20AC;&#x153;final tune-up for conferenceâ&#x20AC;? for those attending. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everyone else is staying here to

rest and sharpen up,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The base work is already done. At this point, the only preparation left is mental.â&#x20AC;?

Jenkins has seen his fair share of conference championships. He's been an assistant and then head coach for WKU throughout the women's run of 16 consecutive indoor, outdoor and cross country Sun Belt titles.

Murphy said the women's team would be under even more pressure than they usually are next weekend. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The women's team always has a big target on their back when they compete, and that's especially true at conference,â&#x20AC;? he said.

Jenkins said he hopes the athletes will be able to feed off the escalated competition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Athletes are always looking to step up when they compete against us,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hopefully we can use that as motivation.â&#x20AC;?

Freshman Antqunita Reed was a part of the teams' indoor championship in February and having recently come back from a knee injury, is ready to compete.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We're just going to do what we have to do â&#x20AC;&#x201D; go out and compete,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We're ready to go for it, No. 17.â&#x20AC;?

The teams' lineup for conference, which Jenkins said is determined by conference ranking, hasn't been set yet.

The Sun Belt championship is the last event of the year for most members of the teams. Some athletes may be eligible to compete in the NCAA National Outdoor Championships, which will take place in June.

Jenkins said the teams are going to need to peak next weekend to come out on top. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is the biggest meet for all of us,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is it. We've done the work, and it's time to perform. That's just the bottom line.â&#x20AC;?

Murphy said the work the athletes will do coming down the stretch will determine how the teams fare. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The keys are going to be staying relaxed and staying focused," he said.

"Everyone is really trying to work on what they need to do at the championship. We're going to have to run like crazy to win it.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x2013; BRIEF Gabbard leaves; Tops add walk-on Although WKU hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t acknowledged the news, an April 19 release from Erskine College announced that freshman walk-on guard Mike Gabbard will transfer from WKU to the Division-II school in Due West, S.C. Gabbard told the Herald Wednesday night that he will be on full scholarship at Erskine. He declined to comment further, citing personal reasons for the move.

Gabbard played in 12 games as a freshman at WKU. The same night, IMG Academy guard Spence Sheldon, who formerly played at Warren Central High School, told the Herald that he will be a preferred walk-on for the Toppers next season. Sheldon said he may redshirt and could have the opportunity to earn a scholarship in his second year. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Zach Greenwell

WKUHERALD.COM For the latest WKU sports news, follow @wkuheraldsports 05.06.11

COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD • Vol. 86, No. 54 • WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

TOP FIVE STORIES MEMORIES THAT DEFINED THE 2010-2011 SEASON

Each game, each match, each meet, each team and each player has a story. And some are more memorable than others.

Tops finally break the streak

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KU football's win over Louisiana-Lafayette last October was just one of two the Toppers grabbed in the 2010 season.

But that win at ULL wiped away 763 days of frustration.

The Toppers’ 54-21 victory at Lafayette last Oct. 25 snapped a 26-game losing streak, then the longest in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

WKU’s last win before that came against Murray State in September 2008.

“I’ve only been a part of six of those, but that felt long enough,” Head Coach Willie Taggart said after breaking the streak. “But I’m happy for these guys that have been around for 26. It’s just been miserable for them, and I’m so proud of them.”

The long-sought victory and Taggart’s first season at the helm breathed new life into the program, as did junior running back Bobby Rainey’s dominant season.

Rainey carried the ball a nation-best 340 times for 1,649 yards, making him the No. 3 rusher in the country.

But more than any statistics, the most poignant memory of the season for most will be the Toppers returning to Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport after their first win in more than two years to find hundreds of fans waiting, streak officially snapped.

“I’m happy that our fans can really smile and feel better now,” Taggart said.

“If there’s any that left us, come on back, because we’re going to get this thing rolling.”

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Volleyball team survives near-death experience on bus

T

hrough the years, Travis Hudson’s players have often referred to him as a father, friend and coach.

But last Oct. 7, the WKU volleyball team changed the head coach’s title to “hero.”

Around 1 p.m. that Thursday, the bus driver transporting Hudson and the Lady Toppers to Mobile, Ala., suffered a heart attack and lost consciousness at the wheel.

He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The bus had crossed the median on Interstate 65 South near Athens, Ala., veering into both the northbound and southbound lanes.

Hudson climbed through to the driver,

took control of the bus and eased it to a stop, while players, luggage and boxes were thrown from their bunks.

The Sun Belt Conference offices gave WKU the chance to opt out of its weekend matches, but the team decided to continue forward, sweeping both South Alabama and Troy that same weekend.

“It is way bigger than volleyball at this point,” Hudson said after the incident. “I don’t know if there is a manual that comes down to dealing with something like this.

I don’t know what tomorrow will be. I just know that there is a tomorrow. That was very much in doubt today.

“By the grace of God, there is one and we will deal with whatever comes then.”

Donahue finds national spotlight

S

enior swimmer Claire Donahue finished her final season at WKU with a bang, taking second place in the 100-yard butterfly at the NCAA National Championships in March, the highest individual national finish for a WKU swimmer in school history.

Donahue also finished 14th in the 200 fly at nationals. Both times set new program records and helped her record enough team points for WKU by herself to surpass Louisville and Kentucky.

The event was the last stop for Donahue in her time at WKU, and Head Coach Bruce Marchionda said there’s no way to fully state what she’s done for the school.

“I’m not sure the impact she’s had on this program can be expressed in words,” he said.

Donahue won eight individual Sun Belt Conference titles while at WKU and was twice named the league’s Women’s Swimmer of the Year.

“Athletes like Claire don’t come around often,” Assistant Coach Rita Kalmikova said. “It was fun to watch her grow as an athlete and a competitor.”

After she graduates, Donahue is planning to stay in Bowling Green for another year to train for the 2012 Olympics in London. She said she plans to compete at a few national events and train at the Powell Natatorium in preparation for the Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb., next July.

“I’m going to work at every practice to succeed in my ultimate goal — competing in the Olympic trials,” she said.

WKU basketball hits reset button with McDonald still in charge

T

he men’s basketball team was never able to find smooth sailing during the 2010-2011 season.

The Toppers were forced to dismiss two players for violations and lost freshman guard Brandon Peters to academic ineligibility, and the end result was a 16-16 record with no postseason play.

And while one of the main side themes of the season was Head Coach Ken McDonald’s job security, WKU made news in March with a press conference — to announce McDonald would stay.

Athletics Director Ross Bjork addressed a crowded Diddle Arena media room March 14 with McDonald at his side, issuing a vote of confidence for the

third-year coach.

McDonald accepted a revised contract that runs through the 2014-2015 season, taking a $100,000 pay cut back to his original 2008 salary of $250,000.

McDonald spoke at length about his own personal and professional faults since arriving in 2008, and he created one of the catch phrases of the year when he asked for a push of the “reset button.”

“We’re going to approach this job like we just got named today to the coaching job at WKU, and we’re going to get after it,” he said. “We’re going to make sure we’re doing everything in our power to make sure we’re back on the level we need to be at.”

Rice rewrites record books

CONTACT:

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n his four years as a Topper, Matt Rice has shown a flair for the dramatic.

So it came as little surprise that the senior catcher broke the school’s career hits record in front of WKU’s biggest home crowd of the year during an 11-8 win over Kentucky on April 19.

Rice took the first pitch of his second at-bat and hit a hard shot to Wildcat third baseman Thomas McCarthy.

McCarthy made a diving stop but had no chance of retiring Rice at first.

The Bowling Green Ballpark crowd of 5,142 rose to its feet and gave Rice an ovation, as it was announced that he had just broken Josh Patton’s program record with his 283rd career base hit.

“It was an awful neat thing to see

4

him get the hits record and take a curtain call in front of a great crowd,” Head Coach Chris Finwood said following the game. “He deserved it, and he’ll never forget that.”

Rice proceeded to go 4-for-5 in the game, helping to lead the Toppers back from an 8-3 deficit.

He then added another notch to the record book in WKU’s next game, April 22 at Troy, when he knocked in his 209th career run, breaking Mike Williams’ school RBI record.

Finwood said it will be a difficult task to replace his record-breaking catcher.

“Matt Rice is everything you want in a college baseball player,” Finwood said. “He does everything right.”

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